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A tile at Dufferin subway station has been put in upside down, creating an unsightly gap between the "I" and the "N".

As noted urbanist Richard Florida argues, attracting the "creative class" (e. g. white men with thick-rimmed glasses and iPads) is essential to a city's prosperity. One can do so by investing in condos, trendy coffeeshops, and smart branding involving a lot of Archer or perhaps Gotham. Toronto has done quite well on this front. However, such a visible typographical error in Toronto's trendy west end indicates, intentionally or not, that municipal government has deprioritized the most forward-thinking sort of economic development. We may conclude that our kind is not wanted here, and migrate to a city with a more aesthetically pleasing public transit system, such as London or Montreal. A creative class exodus would undoubtedly result in financial disaster along the lines of Greece or Spain, leaving Toronto a barren postapocalyptic dystopia where the subway tunnels house grizzled CHUDs pushing SUV-sized strollers full of food looted from Pusateri's. And we wouldn't want that to happen, would we?

The following is the letter I e-mailed to the city regarding my personal property damage claim. The response I got was a man absolutely refusing to take responsibility for the damage, and trying to blame someone, anyone, else.

To whom it may concern,

I wish to file a claim against the City of Toronto for Personal Property Damage. My name is Allison Orr, my permanent address is 268 Reynolds St. Oakville, Ontario, L6J 3L4. My cell phone number is XXXXXXXXX. I locked my Bicycle on the long multi-bicycle rack near 1 Atlantic Ave. on the north side of Exhibition Go Station at 5:40pm on Friday Oct. 19th. I returned Monday Oct. 22nd just after noon to retrieve my bicycle and the rack had been relocated down a slight hill about 20 feet away from it's original location. My bicycle was still attached, but completely unrideable. I took it immediately to a bicycle mechanic and await an estimate for repairs. The front fork is bent beyond repair and there are a number of other damaged areas. My bicycle is my main form of transportation. I ride it from Oakville to Burlington (20km) for work a minimum of twice a week and at least an additional 10km a day most days. Without it I will require other transportation until my bicycle is in working order once again. This will also cost me a great deal of time because my bike is my fastest possible transportation around the city, and I missed a number of hours of work today dealing with this issue.

The fork on the bicycle was replaced earlier this year and cost over $100. In addition there are other repairs required, including parts and labour, plus alternate transportation, and money lost due to missed work and time set backs, I estimate this will total near $400.

There is construction going on where the rack was moved and Go Transit has confirmed that the bicycle racks are maintained there by the City of Toronto. The rack was likely relocated for the construction on site, however there was no warning given, nor were there signs posted warning not to use that rack. There were a number of other bicycles also attached that may have been damaged, however I use my bicycle more than the average bike commuter and keep it in high working order.

Shannon, my bicycle mechanic from Red Arrow Bikes can be reached at 416-464-4243. I filed a complaint with the City of Toronto by calling 311 earlier today and the reference number for that complaint is 1760186. I spoke with a woman named Jackie, and despite my frustration at the situation found her very helpful and pleasant.

Thank you for your time, I hope this matter can be dealt with promptly. If you require any additional information I can be reached at this e-mail address or on my cell phone.

Toronto's parks department dumps the excrement from the animals at the High Park Zoo in the middle of the park. The poop does not have a fence around it to sequester it nor is there any sign to warn users of the park about it. The poop pile is very close to a path that people walk along and is also adjacent to the dog off leash area. Because it smells very attractive to dogs and is not fenced, it is very easy for dogs to access the pile. In addition, this is an area that coyotes are sighted and I wonder if the smell of the animal waste is also attracting coyotes. I think that dumping animal excrement in the middle of one of the city's most beautiful parks is both a health and an environmental hazard. Downhill from the pile is a stream that ends up in Lake Ontario and I am concerned about runoff, particularly bacteria parasites such as giardia. I have no objection to composting animal waste but it needs to be done properly in an area that is not accessible to the public. All of the dog owners that I have spoken to think the pile is disgusting and it either needs to be moved or adequately fenced.

I have contacted Sarah Doucette's office, Public Health and the supervisor of High Park about this. No one is taking my concerns seriously. The supervisor of High Park refuses to do anything about the pile because they have been dumping the waste there for decades. They claim that if the area is fenced off the pick up truck will not be able to dump the @#$% there. Shouldn't human health and the environment take precedence over these feeble excuses. Help!

This summer has seen a drastic rise in numbers and sound volume of street preachers at Yonge and Dundas square. Every weekend without fail they descend on the high traffic intersection with an arsenal of extremely loud megaphones casting warnings of fire and brimstone that can be heard from a far. They sometimes block the road or sidewalk and distract drivers while harassing tourists and locals alike. I understand that free speech is important to any democracy and people should have the right to preach their beliefs in a public forum, however they do not have the right to use electronic sound amplifications that drown out any opposing views and risk damaging people's ears. The noise by-law specifically prohibits using these megaphones but the Toronto police seem hesitant to enforce this by-law.

A busy intersection on Willowdale Avenue and the East exit of the TTC Finch Station East Parking Lot is a big danger for cars turning in and out the parking lot. There is no stop sign or traffic lights at the intersection, making it very dangerous to whoever drives because this street is extremely busy, especially at rush hour. Many times a car almost ran into me while I was turning, and I think that erecting a stop sign would benefit society and reduce the amount of car accidents in this area. I hope that this makes a difference.

The tree on our front lawn was cut down by the City on June 17, 2013. The City said the stump would be removed and a tree replanted in 4 months. Then 6 months. Then 9 months. Now 311 says the Fall of 2014 which will make that 15 or 16 months since the tree was cut down. Actually, they even showed up the morning of May 1st to our house and said they will be removing it the next day (May 2, 2014) which never happened. The stump takes up a huge portion of front yard and has even lifted our walkway. Also, we are unable to grow any grass because the stump is so large. We understand that because it is on a busy road and is so huge that it may be a difficult job but we are feeling exasperated that they keep breaking promises. We just want to be able to fix our front yard and do some landscaping.

The intersection of Underhill Dr & Lawrence Ave E is in desperate need of better signage. When driving southbound on Underhill Dr, to where it merges with Lawrence Ave E (in the right lane), essentially every vehicle that is turning right onto Lawrence stops at the following traffic island (see Google streetview image):

Vehicles are supposed to yield to pedestrians (if any are present). If no pedestrians are crossing the road, vehicles are to turn immediately onto Lawrence and merge further down the road. Unfortunately, most people don't seem to understand the rules of the road. They have an entire lane to themselves, which makes it easy for them to change lanes away from the intersection, but they end up stopping at this corner for an indefinite amount of time. This causes unnecessary congestion in the right hand turning lane, especially during rush hour (creating a line of cars almost as far north as Roanoke Rd, for several minutes somtmes). For some reason people want to merge lanes right at the intersection; which isn't safe or even legal. New signage or a redesign of this corner is needed and it has to be clearly decipherable, eg. 'No Stopping', 'Do not change lanes at this point', 'Yield to pedestrians, not vehicles'...or something to that effect. The status quo is simply not good enough. This corner needs to be reworked somehow to eliminate people from stopping here. This is a perpetual issue and its extremely frustrating to deal with on a regular basis.

My neighbours and I have noticed an increase in illegal left turns from the Danforth onto Cambridge Avenue northbound, especially during the evening rush hours when the line to turn left at Broadview gets very long.

Just inside the section of Brookbanks Park ravine (south of Brookbanks Dr) the retaining wall and waterfall (used to aerate the creek) have been collapsed into Deerlick Creek for roughly a decade. I believe this occurred during the flood of 2005. The entire creek is an utterly dilapidated, polluted mess, but this particular section is the worst. No effort has been made to address this unacceptable state of affairs. I am sick and tired of looking at this embarrassing, filthy cesspool of rubble and litter on a daily basis. All the caged riprap (used to prevent erosion) should be removed and replaced with native vegetation (which will anchor the banks of the creek and return it to a more naturalized state (this really ought to be done across the entire ravine network, but I digress). I want this issue to finally be given some consideration and to be 'properly' repaired with native vegetation -- as I stated above -- and not more rip rap, armourstone, etc. Also, all the concrete should be removed from the creek. This isn't a dump; though it sure looks like one.

Why aren’t the city ordinances regarding no stopping and parking in bike lanes being enforced? We have spent hundreds of thousands dollars on these lanes and cars regularly use them are parking, loading and unloading or turning lanes. I have never seen anyone getting a ticket for this. I have never seen the police (not on emergency calls who sometimes block the lanes even though there is an inlet not far away which they could park in) or parking authority patrolling for violators.

The attached picture (taken today, May 9, at approximately 4:30pm) is from one of multiple violators on the north bound side of Sherbourne between Queen and Gerrard. A man associated with the truck picture became rude and threatening when I took this picture claiming they had the right to park there because they were “men at work.” They were from a private contractor sodding private property – not on any official city business or service. He knew that the fine was $150 and stated he didn’t care – again, that “men at work” thing. There was a cab straddling the bike lane and the automobile lane in the same area. It got away before I could get a picture.

I wish I could say this was out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, it is common. It’s daily and it’s fairly constant and consistent. The other day riding southbound on Sherbourne between Bloor and Queen, there were no less than six cars and trucks blocking the bike lane. And not just on Sherbourne – but bike lanes all over the city. It’s also particularly bad on Bloor Street between Yonge and Church. Drivers stop in these no stopping zones (which should be a separate ticket from blocking the bike lane) with impunity because they know they will not be ticketed or fined. Instead, cyclists are routinely put in danger by having to merge in to vehicular traffic to get around them.

It is clear that the current city administration is hostile to alternate forms of transportation, but that is no excuse for not enforcing the laws on the books. By not enforcing bike lane ordinances, the city has spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars making the bike lanes and is now losing hundreds of thousands of dollars more in revenue from non-enforcement. At this point, bike lanes in Toronto are a complete joke. In fact, Toronto is clearly in the lead as one of the most unfriendly cycling cities.

This intersection is a nightmare in all directions affecting Bathurst.

1. Drivers are not aware the Bathurst SB left turn lane to Lakeshore East ends well behind the other two SN lanes - straight and right turn lanes - to allow the Fleet St. streetcar through. It needs to be painted better, more signs and more obvious.
2. It is unclear whether you can turn on to Lakeshore WB from SB Bathurst. It appears not but drivers do causing a bottle neck with the southbound Bathurst traffic. The sign says no turn on red light but the lines force you to turn on to Fleet WB. Clarity! Better signs and paint some lines to force traffic.
3. The lights do not have enough time to allow the long left turn line in the intersection to clear from SB Bathurst to Lakeshore East. Cars get trapped in the intersection all the time. Streetcars turning left from EB Fleet St. turning lane are blocked by cars that don't know where the lane ends or that are trapped by the signal. Chaos. Add some time between lights to allow SB traffic turning left to clear.
4. Cars turning right from WB Lakeshore on to Bathurst always turn into the middle lane instead of the right lane (as it ends In a few hundred meters). This leaves an empty right lane and causes conflict if drivers decide to use it to get ahead. This middle lane is also the proper path for the left turn from EB Fleet St. Cars run into each other here. The middle lane is for Fleet St. through fare. A solid turning lane line needs to be painted forcing traffic from WB Lakeshore to use the right lane and merge further up.
5. Cars turning left from Fleet St. EB need a line to force them into the middle lane on Bathurst. The left lane is for the Fleet St/Bathurst north streetcar. The cars drive into the left lane path then back into the middle lane of Bathurst in one turn. This could cause an accident with said streetcar or a car turning right from Lakeshore WB. Paint some turning lanes!

This intersection is the WORST anywhere and some simple painting could alleviate a lot of traffic and stress. I would add that these turning lanes I refer to need to be painted THROUGH the intersection for the paths noted above for cars AND streetcars.

As you can see in the Google street view photo I've attached, this section of boulevard is covered in horrendously ugly asphalt. It is a blight on the local community and it should be replaced with grass -- in keeping with the symmetry of the surrounding boulevard context. Why this section is paved is a mystery to me? The only section that should actually be paved is where the adjacent house's driveway meets Underhill Dr. Sod should be planted on either side of the driveway, meeting the grass on its immediate south, and extending up to Royal Doulton Dr to the north. This would greatly improve the aesthetic nature of this stretch of Underhill Dr and would give that poor tree a better chance at thriving; as well as the opportunity to plant new trees. The current situation here is completely unacceptable and is just one example of how much this city neglects its public realm. People deserve more beautiful streetscapes and public spaces. Addressing this particular stretch would be a small, but important step towards achieving that. Is it any wonder why so many people litter and think of the city as 'ugly?' Maybe if we valued our public space more there would be a greater sense of pride throughout the city and attitudes might start to change in regards to how we treat our neighbourhoods?